


Reunions, Tales and Oh, Yeah - I'm Kinda Dying

by Relentless_Darkness



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, But the angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family Reunions, Fluff and Angst, Gunshot Wounds, Maybe - Freeform, Memories, Pain, Parenthood, Sharing a Bed, So much angst, Teen Romance, The fluff will come eventually, if i feel like it, regarding Clem and AJ that is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-07-24 08:51:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16171733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relentless_Darkness/pseuds/Relentless_Darkness
Summary: In Lilly's raid on the school she didn't hesitate and put a bullet in Clem's gut on the way out. Clem's position is dangerous as the wound is more severe than first realised, and Violet decides to wait for everyone to catch their breath and Clem to heal up before launching a rescue. When Clem's parents stumble upon the school things get complicated and she relives her memories of the past nine years.Basically, Clem telling her parents about seasons 1-3. There's also her motherly relationship with AJ and her actual 'relationship' with Violet, so yeah - if you like the premise of the fic, if you like motherly!Clem over AJ or you like Clem/Violet then you'll enjoy this fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I came up with this story a couple nights ago and decided 'hey - I like readingthebooks!fics, I like Clem and AJ's relationship and I like Clem and VIolet's relationship, so I'm going to try and do all three in one story!'

"Ed, I don't know how much longer I can keep going."

  
"We need to keep on. We'll find something, Di, don't worry."

  
Diana huffed behind him. "After those people took all our stuff, we need to find food today. I don't see any rabbits, do you?" Her tone became terser with every word.  
It wasn't helping Ed's mood in the slightest. It was foul at the best of times, but after Scott and his stupid fucking kid had turned on them for the last of the water his nerves were stretched tighter than the skin over his bones.

"No. And I don't see any raccoons, no squirrels, no deer and no water to catch fish. But you know what? I don't see any people or any biters, either, so how about we just count our blessings and keep walking until we do see something?" He humphed the rucksack for emphasis and sped up. Did she really think he wasn't aware of their situation? Did she think he wouldn't go back and kick those bastards' faces in if he had the strength? Did she think he wasn't trying with everything to keep them both alive?

  
Diana followed silently, but he could feel the burning glare from behind, as if she could read his mind. He wouldn't be surprised - he knew her just as well, and twenty-two years of marriage could do that to a couple.

  
It could tear them apart, like losing a child. Like losing a child and not knowing where to look. Like losing a child and not seeing hide or hair of her for almost nine years.  
Like losing the second before it was even born.

* * *

"Damnit, Willy, will you just get up there and keep watch?! We need someone on guard 24/7 in case they come back."

  
The boy scowled, but relented as the fight slipped away from him. He climbed the ladder and stared out without turning back. Violet tightened her mouth into a thin line and straightened her back like the leader she was supposed to be (was trying to be), refused to show weakness. Since Mitch, well... he was an asshole for the past couple weeks, treated everyone like shit. He took Brody and Marlon... not harder but certainly angrier than the rest of them. Took it out on everyone, except Willy. Still, he didn't deserve that... that bitch shoving a knife through his neck. And when she'd gotten on top of him - Christ...

  
And now Omar, and Aasim, and Louis, she'd taken them all. Put a bullet in Omar's leg - Omar, the chubby-faced bastard that made shit taste like chocolate - and dragged him out from behind his cover, beat Aasim over the head and threw him into their cage, drove Louis into the ground and dragged him off like some pig.

  
She put a bullet in Clem's gut, and now she was clinging to life, rolling around in pain when she had the strength to move at all, gripping her stomach like some parasite was ripping her apart from the inside, barely able to keep from screaming, with AJ spending every waking second he was away from watch duty holding onto her for dear life, sleeping with his head on her arm so she could stick her fingers into his hair and stroke his head. He'd told Violet she used to do it when he was little, said it helped her nightmares.

  
Then Clem had croaked out that he was still little and the kid had buried his face in her jacket to hide the tears.

  
Before she knew it Violet was standing in front of the graves, all... six of them. Minnie and Sophie, Brody and him, Ms. Martin after Ruby and Clem had carried her back from the greenhouse and now Mitch. Should it be four, if the twins were alive? Or was it just Minnie still alive, or was it all a lie to lure her and Tenn out? Would... would she have to dig a seventh grave? Violet wasn't sure she could do that again, not so soon. She'd buried three friends in as many weeks, the two old graves were empty, two of the newer ones were the reason why, one was filled with a walker and one didn't even have the dirt settled yet. God, how did it all get so fucked?

  
Oh, no, she knew why. Her eyes lingered on Marlon's grave and she felt a surge of rage and before she knew it she had to swallow the bile before she spat it at the dirt. She settled for kicking a nearby stone at the wooden cross, felt her anger ebb just a bit when it hit the 'r' of his name.

  
"Fucking coward," she muttered darkly. Maybe everyone else said it was wrong, maybe Clem said it was wrong, maybe even AJ said it was wrong and maybe Violet even knew it was wrong but a small part of her, the same part that resented Brody for all those months, felt a small satisfaction at how he went out, broken and beaten like a dog, admitting defeat before he was gunned down as surely as he'd killed Brody, as surely as he'd sold Minnie and Sophie for his own safety, as surely as he'd chosen to hide it from them all and steal away the choice to risk it all for the twins, as surely as he'd pointed a loaded gun at them all and threatened to do the same to them.

  
Maybe he didn't deserve to die, but fuck if it didn't feel good. Maybe that said something bad about her, but she really didn't care. What she cared about was getting Clem healed up and heading off to save the others, kill those assholes, and find out what is really going on with Minnie and Sophie.

  
Shit. Minnie. Violet touched her bottom lip gently. The fuck was she going to say to her?

  
No. Don't go down that road, don't want to overthink it. Nothing to be done about it right now. She turned on her heel and marched down to their... to her prisoner.

  
The shitbird looked ugly as a mole-rat, with his broken yellow teeth, his greasy hair, his missing arm, his filthy clothes, his face all ripped up from when Clem stabbed him in the face and the way his leg stuck out at an angle that made Violet want to fucking puke. She'd tied him up outside, so he could be exposed to all the rain and the hailstones and the freezing cold. Maybe that would be payback for putting buckshot through a goddamn child.

  
"Hey, Blondie."

  
"Shut the fuck up."

  
The shitbird - what did AJ call him, Abel? - snickered to himself. "Now that ain't nice, Blondie. So..." He hummed and cracked his neck. "Where's the other girl? One that took my goddamn arm off and kicked me offa that building?"

"Shut. Up."

"What, she dead?"

Violet kicked him in the face. Hard. She smirked when he yelped and snarled in pain. 

"Fucking bitch! Piece of fucking shit, I'm gonna-"

"I said shut up! I ask the questions and you fucking answer, alright!" She took a breath. "Where are our people?"

Abel breathed and calmed himself down, smiled up at her with that same smug look he always had. "Why, sweetie, they're with my people. That's why we took 'em. Need every able body we can find."

Violet huffed. "'Splains why they left you."

Abel sneered up at her. "You're the little girlfriend, right? Li'l Minerva's rugmuncher?"

Violet kicked him again. It didn't stop the fluttering of hope in her chest. "She alive?"

"Yup." 

Violet took a breath. She was alive. Minnie was alive. "Sophie too?" 

Abel only grinned. Fine. Fucking fine. Let him be like that - she'd just find out for herself. If Minnie was alive, why couldn't Sophie be too? (But then why didn't that Lilly woman mention her too?) "And the li'l bitch with the ball cap? She dead?"

Violet only grinned. It was petty, but petty felt good. She could ask him in a few hours, let the hunger settle in. She'd have Willy and Tenn and Ruby sit down with her and they'd eat their stew in front of him. And there was that thing the Chinese used to do, with the water dripping on people's heads. Was supposed to drive you crazy. It was fine. She had time - wasn't like they took them to kill them. And that bitch had hesitated to pull the trigger on Clem - she didn't want her dead; they could use that, somehow, when they had a plan.

She just had to break this shitbird first.

* * *

Ruby came out of Minnie and Sophie's old room with her hands covered in blood.

"Vi." Her voice was calm and even, like it always was when she was treating an injury. She wasn't like that before but Ms. Martin taught her everything she knew, including how to keep a level head. "Clem's out cold. I finally managed to get the bullet out, but..."

"But..." Violet fought not to let the apprehension show on her face.

Ruby sighed. "I think that thing went deeper than we thought. We haven't had clean bandages in months, the peroxide's about out and she was bleeding through the bandages for longer than she shoulda. She's bleedin' on the inside, Vi, and there ain't a thing I can do."

Violet froze. By the time she'd digested the information Ruby had gone off to wash her hands. AJ's sniffling could be heard through the door, so she hesitated before knocking.

She could hear the snuffling of someone drying their face with a shirt. "Wh-who is it?" The deep boyish voice had a crack in it. It was years too early to be puberty.  
Violet opened the door. "Hey, kiddo." It was still a little awkward, talking to an actual child. Nowhere near as much as when they'd first been carried in from the car crash, but still a little. When AJ saw it was her he sniffled again and went back to burying his face in the sleeping girl's arm.

Violet had to take a deep breath before going in any further. Clem looked... well, Clem looked like shit. Her dark skin had gone pale with fever, she was covered in this sheen of sweat and dirt, her hair was all matted and greasy, her body was weak from pain and sickness and blood loss, her shirt was practically dyed red at this point, and she had only just had a rifle shot pulled out of her gut.

Huh. It was funny - Violet thought she still looked cute... however inappropriate that was. She shook her head, ashamed, and sat down in the spare seat. AJ didn't shrug her off when she rubbed his back. She'd had practice, on those nights when Tenn used to have nightmares about the walkers that ate his sisters. Eventually AJ lulled to sleep, easy breathing as his forehead stayed buried in Clem's arm.

Violet tucked her chair in closer and let herself take her hand. It was cold, and clammy, and weak, but it curled around her own as well as it could. Weird, how so much could change in just one night. One dead, three gone and one barely holding on. If she could just turn the clock back a few hours before it all went down... no. No, that part had gone perfectly. But it would be nice to do all again.

"Hey."

Violet flinched, head snapped up. "The hell?" she berated quietly. "You should be sleeping."

Clem smirked weakly. "I don't sleep a lot anyway." It was true - Clem liked to take first watch, said it was so she could see the sun come up. Sometimes Violet joined her, just for the hell of it. "How's everyone else?"

Violet could feel the hand tighten worriedly, just a little. "Well, you know how AJ and Ruby are doing," she began. "Tenn keeps going over the supplies, even though he knows it off by heart. He, uh, blames himself. You know, for Mitch."

Clem's face fell. "God, Mitch. Is he..."

Violet nodded. "Yeah, I dug a grave. Willy filled it back in. He's not taking it well either. Mitch was like a big brother to him, y'know? He could be an ass at times, but..."

"Yeah, not that much of an ass. God, I hate Lilly."

Violet cocked her head. "Really?" she asked quietly. "I mean, I know you two have history but..."

Clem swallowed. "She went crazy pretty early on. Like, Marlon crazy, only worse. After her dad died, just... she got paranoid. Didn't trust anyone. Someone in the group had been stealing our meds and giving them to a pack of bandits so they'd leave us alone. After they came and chased us out she got worse. She didn't even seem to care who got blamed as long as she could pin it on them. Carley blew up at her, called her a scared little girl. Told her to take a page out of Lee's book and help somebody for a change. As soon as our backs were turned Lilly blew her brains out."

"Christ." Violet's grip tightened, just a bit.

Clem nodded. "Weird, I can remember that whole conversation like it was yesterday, but I can't remember what Carley looked like. It's like..." Suddenly she looked on the verge of tears. "It's like with Lee. I can remember his voice, all deep and smooth and comforting but I can't... I can't remember what he looked like anymore. I mean, I know what he looked like - I remember he was so tall, and strong, and he had really short hair and a short beard, and I know he had the kindest eyes and he would always smile for me, even when things were scaring him to death. I just can't, y'know... see him anymore. I just..."

Violet blinked. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember her parents' faces either. It wasn't as painful on her end, considering they shipped her off as a 'troubled kid' just because... well, it still stung. 

"Anyway, Lee let her back on the RV."

"Wait, what? Why?"

Clem smiled. "I didn't really know for years, not until that night with Marlon. When it was up to me. He let her back in because everyone was crazy and emotional and he didn't want anything to be done in the heat of the moment. Knowing what I know about... what he did before he met me... I think he was scared of losing control like that." Violet felt her loosening touch tighten again. "Lilly betrayed his mercy. As soon as we were off the RV she got loose and stole the damn thing. Drove off into the sunset and left us all behind. I didn't see her for nine years, 'til a few weeks ago."

Violet didn't know what to say. "...damn. That's rough." She noticed the look on Clem's face: tight, almost scrunched. "Shit. Is it hurting again? Do you need anything in, or-"

"No, no, nothing," Clem hissed, relaxing. She offered a weak smile. "It's nothing, really. Nothing to waste painkillers on. Besides, I don't think ibuprofen works on gunshots."

Violet returned the smile and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, you might need something just a little stronger."

"Just a little. I guess for now I need to settle for holding your hand."

Violet snorted. "Ass."

"Hey, it works. I'm feeling better already." 

If she wasn't feverish, Violet would have sworn that Clem would be red in the face by now. She wasn't as... used to this as Violet was. It made her feel good, being the experienced one of the two at something. Not blushing at light flirting was kinda lesson number one.

Still, on the rooftop the positions had been reversed. That... that had felt good too.

Violet shook her head. "We got that asshole tied up."

"Abel?"

"Uh-huh."

Clem's eyes narrowed. "He hasn't said shit, has he?" She checked AJ was still asleep and hadn't heard her. She only allowed him to curse on occasion, when things were really bad.

"He said that Minnie was still alive and that they wanted us as soldiers, so no. Nothing we didn't already know."

"Damnit!" Clem snarled, clutching Violet's hand in what a healthy Clem would have made a deathgrip. "Any ideas?"

Violet flashed a dark smirk. "I've got a few."

"Care to share?"

"...not for the kid to overhear."

Clem's eyes widened. "Ah. That kind of way."

Violet cocked an eyebrow. "Problem?"

The smile on Clem's face sent shivers down her spine, in a good way. "Not at all."

* * *

Ed poured the hot water back into their bottles once it was cool enough.

"How long before it cools, do you think?"

He shrugged. "Couple hours, maybe." The pot slipped easily into his rucksack. When he sat down beside his wife she passed him the rest of the raccoon leg. "We might not have any more food for about a week, but at least we'll be warm."

Diana nodded jerkily, mind away on its own.

Ed shrugged again and enjoyed having some hot food in his mouth for a change. It wasn't usual that he could enjoy anything these days. A newborn that only lasted a few days, a child who could be alive or dead or a biter or worse and he didn't know, and nobody that could be trusted in the whole world...

Well, they had each other, if nothing else. Each other, and this raccoon, and a bottle of water.

"She'd be... seventeen now, right?"

Ed froze. They didn't talk about their daughter anymore. Not for five years. "...right. And he'd be four." When Diana just nodded he felt like he should say something. "Think she still has that hat?"

Diana laughed, just a little. "That would be just like her. 'No, my daddy gave it to me, I'm keeping it!' And then she'd put one of those made-up curses on it and pretend it gave anyone who tried to take it bad luck."

Then they went quiet for a moment. "...tell me the truth, Di. Do you think Clementine's still alive?"

After a moment of silence Diana got up and walked away.

"...yeah. Me, too."

* * *

"Weird." Ruby stood up and hummed. "It's stopped bleeding out."

Clem settled, gasped when she twisted the wrong way.

"Hey," Violet scolded her. She put a hand on her shoulder and laid her back down. "Ruby said it stopped bleeding. Don't piss it off."

"Piss it off?"

"Shut up."

"Ahem." They turned to see the uncomfortable look on Ruby's face, all scrunched up. "Look, Clem, I don't know if it's as good a thing as we think. Could be that it's healing up okay, but I don't know if it's stopped bleeding on the inside too. Could be that you've got internal bleeding and we can't get to it without cutting you back open." 

Clem shifted awkwardly before looking Ruby in the eye. "What happens then?"

"I don't know, Clem." Ruby averted her eyes and shrugged. "I know how to patch people up, I've gotten pretty good at it, but I didn't go to college for this. Could be nothing to worry about." She turned and looked out the window.

Violet sighed. She hated not knowing, especially when it was important. And she didn't like when Clem just shrugged.

"Nothing to be done, then, I guess."

Violet couldn't help clutching her hand. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Pretend like it's nothing."

"I'm not preten-"

"Yes, you are," she argued. "This is-"

"I know what it is!" Clem snapped. Violet flinched and she calmed down, hacked and coughed. "I just... there's nothing to be done except wait."

"What do you mean?"

The three girls jumped and looked over. AJ sat up in his bed, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He threw his legs over the side and looked Clem in the eye. "It's nothing, goofball. Just..." Clem trailed off; she wasn't good at lying to AJ.

Violet squeezed her hand gently. "It's gotten better on the outside," she told him. "Trouble is Ruby can't tell what's going on on the inside." AJ's eyes widened as he jumped to his feet. 

"Could be nothing to worry about, kiddo," Ruby told him quietly. "Could be she's just a fast healer."

Clem tried to offer up a consoling smile for the kid. "I'll be fine, AJ. No use worrying anymore." 

AJ silently looked at her for the longest time with wide eyes, until his face settled into a blank expression. He turned on his heel and marched off. "I'm gonna help watch with Willy."

"Sure, you go do- agh!" Clem clutched her side and hissed in pain. Violet held her back down as Ruby got to removing the bandages.

AJ rushed back over, facade dropped. "Clem?"

"I'll be alright, you goofball. Just moved the wrong way."

"Ah, damn," Ruby muttered. "You've went and torn the stitching." She huffed and cracked open her box. "Gimme a minute; I'll fix it back up. Jeez, your boy was a better patient than you."

Violet's heart stuck in her mouth when Clem gave a weak chuckle. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't be. Just try not to rip yourself open this time, a'ight?"

Clem smiled. "Sure." She hissed sharply when the needle dug back into her.

Violet sat back down. "You ass. Worrying us all again. Do you even want to get better?" She was not digging that seventh grave. No way. No, no fucking way. 

Clem chuckled again. "Sorry. Again."

"Yeah, well, s'like Ruby said - just don't do it again."

"I'll try. Promise."

"Good."

Violet turned when she heard one thunk, then another. AJ had kicked off his shoes and proceeded to plop himself on the other chair. "I'm not going anywhere 'til you're better."

After a pause Clem dropped the pretense and smiled. "Thanks, AJ." Once Ruby had finished patching her up and left Violet took the towel. She jumped when she realised it was more damp than she had thought, but placed it to Clem's head and started wiping the sweat away. Because she had learned her lesson (or was just enjoying the moment) Clem was behaving herself and keeping still so Violet could wipe down the rest of her face, eyes closed and playfully squeezing AJ's hand.

Violet looked between the two once she was finished. "Right, well... I'm going to check on everyone, then grab us all some water, okay?" 

"Cool."

"Thanks, Violet."

Truth was, she just needed some air before she cracked. She was not doing this again. Not another grave. And definitely not that grave. If she had her way, that grave wouldn't be dug for years, decades, even.

"Violet, hey." She turned from her spot on the steps as Tenn sat down next to her. If she was noticing properly then he'd finally started growing a little bit of hair on his lip. Not much, just... enough that Minnie would notice when she saw him again.

Shit, Minnie. She hadn't even looked for her, just took Marlon and Brody's word for it that they had both been killed by walkers. She'd just... And now she was smiling and flirting and kissing another girl. And what had Minnie gone through over last year? Someone that sweet, and that gentle, and that kind, to become a happy member of them (if that... if Lilly was to be believed). And what about Sophie? Had something happened to her? Did that change her? Would she even recognise Minnie anymore? Would she even recognise Violet?

"Shit, sorry Tenn." She shook herself out of her thoughts and tried to smile for him. It came out fake, like it usually did.

Tenn smiled well enough for the two of them. "It's okay. I was just... I miss them."

"Me, too."

He nodded. "We all do. It's just that... that woman, Lilly? She didn't say anything about Sophie."

Violet hummed. "Shitbird over there won't either." She ignored the ten-year-old's (or was he eleven now? Had it really been that long?) admonishing glance. "I don't know what to say, Tenn. But Minnie wasn't allowed to come to the raid. Don't know why."

She realised she'd said the wrong thing when Tenn slumped and glared at the ground.

"Yeah, and I believed her."

"Tenn-"

"I believed her, and I came out of cover, and I ruined the plan. You and Clem worked so hard on that plan and everyone spent so long building everything and I ruined it and now Louis and Aasim and Omar are gone and Mitch is dead and Clem almost died and it didn't have to happen and I just..." His shoulders began shaking and Violet felt herself crumble, like she used to in the first few months when it was just her looking after him.

She put an arm around his shoulder and rubbed his back. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't talk like that."

"But I-"

"But nothing." She pulled Tenn's face up to meet her's. "We were going to start fighting each other anyway; don't you dare pin that on you. You didn't shove that knife through Mitch's neck, okay, so stop acting like it."

Tenn looked over at the grave for a long second before taking a breath and nodding. "Okay. I know I didn't, it just... it's just hard. Is it always going to be this hard?" he asked quietly. "It was hard when Sophie and Minnie... when I thought they died, it's hard now with Mitch dead. And Brody, and Marlon."

"I don't know what to tell you, Tenn. It's always going to be hard."

Tenn nodded again. After a second he reached into his pocket. "I drew something."

Violet managed a small smile. "Yeah? What is it?" When he unfolded it and showed it to her she felt like curling up into herself.

It was a picture of the twins, and Marlon and Brody, and Lilly and Abel. Minnie and Sophie were standing behind Lilly and Abel, who were pointing guns at Marlon and Brody. Violet chose to ignore the detailed recreation of the knife hanging at Lilly's waist.

"I thought about stuff, after what Clem said that night. Marlon, he didn't want to give them away, did he? He... he thought it was the only way? And he said he wanted to tell us so we could go back and get them, like we're going to do with the others, but he got scared and couldn't do it. And Brody... I've been thinking about it, and I think Clem was right. He just messed up, a lot."

Violet sighed and gave the drawing back. "Yeah, she's right. Doesn't change that he was a dirty coward."

"I know, and I don't know if I forgive him yet, but... I wanted to put it up in his old room. Do you think he would like it? I can make another one for Brody's room."  
For an instant Violet wanted to tell him no. "...yeah. Yeah, they'd like that." When Tenn's face broke out in a wide smile she knew she'd made the right choice.

So of course it had to end.

"VIOLET!" Willy screamed. "STRANGERS AT THE GATE!"

Violet shot to her feet. "The fuck...?" She ran for the gate, gun out. She hadn't gotten a handle on this one yet - they'd done a lot of scavenging before burning the raiders' bodies - but it would do in a pinch. Willy and Ruby were aiming at the two. Tenn stood behind her. She raised the pistol and aimed at the strangers.

One man, one woman. They looked like they'd once been well fed but had gone to seed. Alone, unarmed, no supplies that she could see.

Violet didn't trust it for a second.

"What are your names?"

They looked at each other. "My name's Ed, and this is my wife, Diana. We didn't mean to disturb you people, we were just passing by. Won't be any trouble. Just let us go and-"

"Hell no." No chances. Not anymore. She opened the smaller gate. "In. Both of you. Now." The strangers hesitated, looked at each other again, before complying, hands in the air. Once they were in and the gate was closed Tenn patted them down for weapons. 

"We were with a man and his son, but they took our weapons. Took the food, too." 

Violet ignored them. "Check the bags." Tenn opened the woman's bag first. Nothing but a couple of old books and two water bottles. He opened the man's. A pot and pan, half a cooked raccoon, two water bottles and-

"Hey, give that back!" he snapped. Tenn's eyebrows shot up. It was a framed photograph.

Violet's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Violet, it... it's Clem."

The man froze. The woman looked at him, eyes wide. "How..."

"Look." Violet took the photograph and was sure they all heard her breath hitch. The strangers were definitely the two adults in the photo, and that little girl... she was so small, and her hair was longer, and she looked so damn innocent in that yellow dress with that big smile, but she'd recognise that hat anywhere. Purple with a 'D' on the front.

"...holy shit." 

"Please," the woman begged. "That's all we have left."

Violet steeled herself. She looked the man in the eye, gun pressed up into his cheek. "What's her name."

He swallowed. "Clementine."

"Do you..." The woman hesitated. "Do you know her?"

They both looked so earnest, so honest, so hopeful. It was as if the very thought was giving them reason to live.

There was only one way to be sure.

"Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!" They all turned to see AJ running out across the yard to them, barefoot and tears in his eyes. When he tripped and fell Ruby hurried over to pick him up. "She- she- she was talking and she fell asleep and now she won't wake up and-"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Ruby cut him off, back into her medic mindset. "Take me to her." He grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

Violet's heart was in her throat - what the flying fuck, why now?! - and she wanted to run in after them... but she had something to do.

"Move," Violet ordered, gesturing with her pistol. The two - Ed and Diana, they said their names were? - went with her over to Abel, tied up and muttering to himself. The two recoiled at the sight of him, missing arm, ugly as hell and that damn leg. "Hey, shitface."

He looked up and grinned. "And who's this, Blondie? You gonna feed 'em to me or somethin'?"

"No. That was all I needed." And she pocketed the gun. "Come with me." Ed and Diana silently followed her into the main building, didn't say anything about the 'Leave or Die' sign or the walker heads on pikes, or the blood all over the walls and floors. Violet was glad for that - it saved a good bit of bother as she tried to think of what to say, what to ask them while she walked upstairs and into Marlon's... into her office.

She'd busied herself for about an hour the day before getting everything back in place. Abel's blood was still spattered on the floor from when Clem and AJ has slashed and stabbed at him, and the door was still busted, and the balcony wall was still destroyed from when Clem had charged Abel and smashed through it. Violet remembered watching Clem fall from the balcony and hit the ground, remembered thinking if she'd died then and there, remembered the relief when she'd gotten to her knees and the horror when Lilly put the barrel of a gun to her head.

She sat down in Marlo... in her chair. It was Violet's chair now. 

A low growling made the two - Clem's parents, this was _Clem's fucking parents_ \- stop in their tracks. "Rosie! Down, girl." The dog hesitated, huffed and settled back into her bed. She saw the looks on their faces. "Don't worry; she warms up quickly enough. Didn't even take your daughter a full day before she was doing whatever she said." They relaxed at that and took a seat each. Ed's seat had its back destroyed; the remains were piled in the corner with the rest of the debris.

Ed spoke up first after looking around. "Uh... looks like you people have... had a rough time."

Violet scoffed a humourless laugh. "Yeah, that's one way to put it. You see, when a pair of strangers - adults - show up at our gate without any weapons we tend to get a little... antsy, considering."

Diana glanced at Rosie for a second. "...who's in charge?"

 

"Me." It felt weird to say, still. All these years it was Marlon in charge and Marlon alone, but now... well, nobody else had had the balls to step up. She noticed the look they exchanged. "Yeah, no adults. They all up and left, 'cept for Ms. Martin, and well..." She jerked her in the balcony's direction. "She's in that graveyard you might have noticed outside."

"I see. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's worked for us for nine years. I'm Violet. Ed and Diana, right?"

"That's right," Ed said. He was fidgeting. "Look, you said you knew Clementine..."

Violet blanked her face. "That's right. You really are her parents?"

"Yes," Diana said. Violet looked between them. So earnest...

"Then you won't mind a couple of questions? We've spoken a bit about how things used to be, so..." They both nodded eagerly. "Where were you when everything went to hell?"

Ed licked his lips. "Savannah. We were in Savannah on a business trip, we stayed at the Marsh House hotel. Clementine had a babysitter called Sandra, from Marietta. It took forever to get out of the city."

Violet nodded. She hadn't known about the hotel, but the city and the babysitter matched up. "What sport did she play?"

"Soccer, but she hated it. She only played because I liked it."

Nod. "Where did she spend her time?"

Diana smiled. "In her treehouse. She liked thinking up stories, but she hated climbing the tree. She's been scared of heights forever."

Violet snorted and glanced at the smashed balcony. "Alright. Last question: when did she get that hat?"

"On the day we left for Savannah." Ed didn't hesitate. "It used to be my hat, but I gave it to her before we left. She was distracted by whatever she doing and Sandra had to get her to concentrate."

Violet let out a breath and relaxed in her chair. "...alright."

"Alright?" Diana sounded confused. "Is she here or not?"

"She's here." The way their faces lit up made Violet feel sick. "But she might not be for long."

"What?!" Ed shouted. "Why?!" Diana's eyes went wide and she began shaking.

Violet stared Ed in the eye and he slowly calmed down. "Look, we were attacked by a group of raiders a couple nights back. They took two of our own last year for soldiers. Took three more that night and killed another one. We fought back. Clem's still alive, but an... old friend of hers was in charge of the attack, and she shot her in the gut. She's been in and out since then. Our medic, Ruby, she got the bullet out and patched her up as well as she could but she's got internal bleeding, she's running a fever and she keeps passing out. All we can do at this point is wait."

It felt odd, saying it out loud. Describing the situation in detail. _Clem might die and there's nothing I can do. Clem might die and there's nothing I can do. Clem might die and there's nothing I can do._

Ed and Diana looked as if their whole world had been burned down... or shot in the gut and left to die. Perhaps it reflected badly on Violet that she couldn't care less about how they felt, but after Minnie, and Sophie, and Brody, and Marlon, and Mitch, and Omar, and Louis, and Aasim, and now Clem... she was finding it difficult to care about the feelings of two strangers. She only really cared insofar as they were _Clem's fucking parents._

Maybe that was enough.

"Look, I'm going to check in on her. AJ was freaking out there. You wait here, I'll be back soon."

"AJ?"

"Oh, uh... He's, um..." How to put it without making it sound wrong... "...he's Clem's kid."

She walked out before they could start asking questions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait, you guys. I could bring up work, self-studying, planning my holiday, all the rest of it, but really the thing is the fact that the 'a' 's' and 'd' keys on my laptop are broken so I need to use the on-screen keyboard, which makes typing fricking HELL. The first two drafts were also kinda... well, shit. Anyway, enjoy!

As she left it occurred to Violet that she... probably shouldn't have said it like that.  


She shrugged and continued down to Minnie and Sophie's old room, glancing over to make sure Willy was back on watch duty - no, it was Tenn's shift now - and sure enough, they were exchanging places just as she crossed the yard, Tenn cringing under Willy's glare. Violet made herself a mental note to speak to one of them later - Willy blamed Tenn for trusting Lilly for that split second, and for Mitch's death when the woman shoved a knife under his jaw and out the back of his neck.   


She pointedly ignored their prisoner - when was the last time he ate? She didn't want him dying on them - and carried on inside the other building. When she reached the bend round to the bedroom Ruby came out looking a little peeved.  


"That girl, I swear- oh, hey Violet." Ruby straightened back up, and Violet couldn't help noticing her lips were pursed and her face was tight. "Fever wore her out again. Look, at this point there's no denyin' the wound's infected. I'm going to need more disinfectant-"  


"And we don't have any," Violet finished, tightening up herself. "We had to finish it off when that... guy out there shot the kid." She had to be Leader Violet now. Couldn't just... be normal Violet, not anymore. "Got it. What do we do?" She chose to step up. She chose to do this.  


Ruby took a breath. "Well, saltwater's only really any good for little cuts, but I could try it. It won't clean it out, and it'll be painful, but it might do her some good. The rest'll be up to the girl herself, unless those two brought anyth-"  


"No," Violet cut her off, a little shorter than she meant to. "Sorry, just... right, I'll go in and see her."  


Ruby nodded. "Right, just knock first? Kid's all kinds of messed up right now."  


"Got it." Once she heard the front door close behind Ruby she knocked. "Hey, kiddo. Just me."  


AJ was done cleaning his face up before she entered - either that or he hadn't been crying at all. His feet were dirty from running outside but no cuts. Good; they had enough people getting hurt as is. "Ruby said it's nothing to worry about." He didn't take his eyes off Clem's sleeping face.  


Violet hesitated. "Uh, did she?"  


"I know she was lying." The monotone almost hurt to hear from a six-year-old boy, but Violet sat down and patted his shoulder. "Tell me the truth. I know she told you."  


"Um, well..." Violet looked over at the flytrap on the table, avoiding looking at the child. "Ruby's... gonna do everything she can."  


"I know that," AJ muttered, playing with Clem's fingers. "I mean what is she gonna do?"  


Great. No getting out of this one. Violet took a deep breath and scratched at her trouser leg. "Well, it's not much, but she's gonna mix in some salt with some water and see if that helps a little."  


AJ blinked and looked over at her with wide eyes. "Clem did that for me once, back at the ranch. I got my hand caught on a bramble bush and she said that helped clean it. Said it was called a dis... disinfe... um..."  


"A disinfectant." Clem had mentioned a ranch once before but she didn't like talking about it. Not the same way she 'liked' (if it could be called that) talking about Lee and Kenny and Carley and Luke and... a couple others whose names Violet couldn't quite remember. A guy that got a bunch of people killed and some sheltered girl that she couldn't save no matter how hard she tried. "Yeah, but it only really works on little cuts, not on... that."  


AJ's face fell instantly. He looked down and stopped playing with the fingers. "Oh," he mumbled faintly.  


"But it oughta help just a little," Violet said, as though saying it would make it any more likely. "Might be enough for her body to clean itself out, y'know?"  


"Oh. Okay, I get it!" He started playing with the fingers again. "Um... who were those people? Outside, at the gate. I mean, I know they're strangers, but are they with the people that took Louis and the others?"  


"No," Violet assured him, a little blankly. "No, they're not with... them."  


"Then who are they?"  


"They're, uh... they're Clem's parents." It sounded really lame when she said it like that. Like it wasn't something really important to the girl lying right beside them.   


AJ's brow furrowed. "But she told me they died. Way back at the beginning, when everyone died."  


"I guess she was wrong. They definitely know things about her that she hasn't mentioned before, and they have a picture of her from when she was a kid, so I guess they have to be. No way of knowing until Clem sees them."  


"...oh." AJ sounded very small. With a rush Violet remembered that his parents really were dead. It had been so easy to say that he was Clem's kid back upstairs, but it was also easy to forget that really he... wasn't. Well, he was but at the same time he wasn't, even if he really was and wasn't and it was too confusing to be thinking about right now.  


Violet swallowed and crossed her arms reflexively. "Is it okay if I bring them in?"  


"...sure. I'll go check on Tenn." And the monotone was back. Shit. Well, Clem would fix it, when she woke up. She checked the girl over. She wasn't rolling in her sleep this time, which... could be good? Still, Violet took her hand to make sure she was- yeah, not clammy and cold anymore. That was good.  


* * *

"Is that him?" Diana pointed to the boys on the guard post. "The one with the gun in his hand?" As the woman finished Violet noticed her voice wavering as she took in that her daughter's... kind-of son was holding a gun and standing watch as normally as a pen at a desk writing teachers' notes.  


Violet nodded. "Yeah, that's AJ. I'd... give him some space. He's taking it harder than he lets on. It was just the two of them for years, and now... well, she's the only family he's ever known." She cleared her throat, refused to dwell on her own family. "Come on, down this way."  


When they entered the building Ed finally spoke up about something that was evidently weighing on his mind. "What's with all the..."  


"The 'fuck you' we've got all over Ericson?" The silence was all she needed. "Well, this was... is a home for 'troubled kids', and the assholes that were supposed to look after us cut and ran. The headmaster left his damn dog, and Marlon had to... had to train her to listen to us instead of growling whenever he tried to feed her."  


"Who's Marlon?" Ed asked.  


"Old leader," Violet told them shortly. "He's dead. I wouldn't talk about him to the others if I were you. And here we are." The two made to open the door. "Hold up," Violet warned them, a little more protectively than she intended. "I'll go in first, see if she's woken up or not. I still don't... know if you really are who you say you are." Diana opened her mouth to interrupt. "Not until Clem gives the all clear, and we could be waiting a while." She opened the door and went in.  


Clem was still sleeping. Now that she was alone in the room with her Violet could make out the shallow breathing, the way her stomach jerked back in when she breathed too deeply, the quiet creaking when she moved just an inch in her sleep. Violet sat down beside her and took her shoulder. "Hey, you awake?" No answer, but she did breathe in at that, or was it a coincidence? She leaned in to her ear. "Clem, you awake?" Nothing. So it was a coincidence. "Come in, she's asleep."  


The door creaked open and-  


"Oh, God!" Diana breathed, frozen. Ed's swallowing was audible in the muted sounds of the room and he walked in. "Ed, it's her, it's really her-"  


"It is." The man's voice cracked. "God, honey, she's... she's so big. Our little girl, Di, she's..." Out of the corner of her eye Violet saw him pick Clem's hat off the bedpost and weigh it in his hand. "She's still got this ratty old thing?" he gasped in a little and took a moment to breathe. "There's a lot of blood on this thing." The most prominent blood marking was the oldest, a faint black stain spattered across the front.  


Diana stepped in behind him. "Is she really that bad?" Ed snapped out of his stupor and and turned to Violet.  


She didn't bother looking up at them, too concerned with making sure Clem didn't just suddenly wake up and give her a fright because the past couple of days had taught her that was just like Clem - out like a light when she wanted her awake and then waking up while her back was turned for just a second. "Well, we ran out of antibiotics weeks ago and we cleaned out the entire safe zone years ago, so all Ruby can do is mix some saltwater in and hope Clem's strong enough to fight it out. So, yeah - it's bad." She didn't mean to sound like an asshole but the cooing was getting on her nerves, even though she knew it was justified and didn't blame them one second. Just irrational teenager stuff, she guessed.  


"What happened to her finger?" Ed asked, and Violet could practically feel his eyes on the hand she was holding. A sudden rush of awareness made her very uncomfortable. She refused to let go of the hand, rubbing over the branded 'AJ' on the back of the hand.  


"She cut it off." The choked gasps behind her about summed it up.  


"Biters?"  


"You'll need to ask her." Ed sighed and looked over the old cap again.  


At that moment Clem began coughing softly in her sleep. Ed and Diana's eyes shot up and they took a step forward.. Violet rubbed her shoulder - more for her own comfort, really - until it passed. Wait - she was sweating. Fever again? Regardless, Violet took the towel and wiped the sweat away, wiped down the cheeks again and looked her over before setting it down.  


"You're good with her," Diana said. Ed hummed in agreement.  


Violet froze for a moment - did they know? - but then she realised they were talking about taking care of her. Her racing heart calmed down. "Yeah, well... y'know." She stubbornly kept her eyes averted. "She's, uh... she's a good, uh, friend." And she was not going red. But she kept looking away just in case.  


"What happened to her cheek?" Diana pointed to the two scars below her cheekbone, one deep, one shallow. It occurred to Violet that she'd already said quite a bit about Clem already.  


"You'll have to ask her."  


"Her forehead?"  


"Ask her. I've told you plenty - the rest is up to her to tell you. If she wants to."  


"Okay." Ed gave Diana a seat and looked over the room, wandering over to the drawings. "Who did this one?"  


Violet kept her eyes on Clem. "Which one?"  


"The one with the kid shooting the biter. It says... something underneath it."  


"That'll be AJ's drawing. I think that's the first one he ever drew. Yeah I remember - I came in for-" Violet cut herself off for some reason even she couldn't work out. Privacy, probably. "Anyway, the one with the big bunch of people is Tenn's. He made it for them a little after they arrived."  


"And the... skulls?" Diana asked slowly, looking around her. "AJ's, too?"  


"No, I think that was Clem. She picked them up here and there and figured they'd look good around the room."  


"Oh, I..." Diana sounded unnerved. "I see."  


Violet huffed. "What, little girl all grown up?"  


"Oh, uh..." Diana seemed to realise the sentiment was a little, well... "I realise Clementine has to have grown up, I just..." She trailed off, looking at her hands.  


Ed finished for her. "We just never really thought we'd see our little girl again." Violet could hear him drumming his fingers awkwardly on the desk. "These shirts..." he murmured. "Look, um, this kid? AJ? You said-"  


"I know what I said," Violet interrupted, a little embarrassed. Her grip on Clem's wrist tightened by a fraction. Diana's eyes were making her uncomfortable again. "Look, it's a complicated situation but... this is something you definitely should ask her."  


"Ask me what?"  


"Clem! Hey, you lie back down again. If you rip those stitches one more time, Ruby'll rip you a new one."  


"Yeah, yeah, I know." Clem relaxed and weakly squeezed her hand. "Who's-" She cut off, eyes wide. The room was silent. Nobody moved. Clem's grip on Violet's hand tightened and she blinked. "Violet, who-..." She swallowed.  


"Clementine?" Diana whispered.  


"No. No way." The grip tightened. Clem was shaking. "N-no way." Her voice went thick, as though she were talking through a heavy bout of flu.   


Ed sat the hat back up on the bedpost. "Clementine, we... we thought-"  


"You're dead," she interrupted thickly."You're dead, I- I saw you! I saw your bodies in Savannah!" Her breathing was coming fast and shallow. "You-you were walkers and you were dead and..."  


"Clem. Clem," Violet squeezed her hand a little insistently. Clem's eyes turned to her, weak and tired but wild and furious. "You have to stay calm. Remember?"  


"But-"  


"I know, I know." Violet nodded. "Just... don't be breathing too hard, y'know?" Clem slowly closed her eyes and rested her head back, breathing deep. "Better. Now, look - they have a picture of you. Think you'll recognise it?" Not opening her eyes, Clem squeezed her hand and nodded. Violet stubbornly refused to look at Clem's fucking parents, as they had become known in her mind, and rested back in her seat  


Ed dug into his bag and pulled out the photograph and handed it to Clem. "We went back home after we finally got out of Savannah. Took months to get out and weeks to get back but, well, we hoped we might find something. Found Sandra. Was that.."  


Clem didn't take her eyes off the photograph, but shook her head. "No, that was Lee." Her voice took on that half-sad, half-dead tone.  


"Lee?"  


She took a deep breath and handed the photograph back. "He was..." Clem looked off to the side for a second. "...in a car crash. He wandered into our house looking for help." She smiled faintly. "I almost dropped a hammer on his head- I thought he was a walker, he was limping! Anyway, he found the walkie-talkie and-" Clem cut off, staring into the wall. "...and we talked a little. Sandra - she got bit the first day, and I hid in the treehouse - she attacked him and I came over to give him the hammer. He dealt with her."  


Diana groaned. "That poor girl. I called, I told her to take you back to Marietta."  


Clem thought for a little. "Lee, I think I watched him standing next to the answering machine for a little bit. When he put her down we..." She blinked. "I think we sat down and talked some more? I don't quite remember, but I remember asking him if I should leave, in case you came home. He told me that no matter what, he wasn't gonna leave me alone."  


"He sounds like a good man," Ed said quietly, thinking to himself.   


Clem smiled. "He was. He really-... he tried to keep the group together. Even when everyone was at each other's throats he kept reminding us that the most important thing was to stay together and to not turn on each other." Then, for a split second, it was as if some other memory, something colder, took over her mind. She froze for a second.  


"The group?"  


Clem blinked. "Oh. Yeah. This guy, I can't remember his name, but he and his friend drove us up to his dad's farm. The dad patched Lee's leg up and let us stay the night in the barn with the other guests. That was when we met-" That cold memory took her over again. "That was when we met Kenny and his family, Katjaa and Duck."  


"Duck?" Diana asked. Violet had to agree - it was a weird name.  


"'Like water off a duck's back'. Nothing ever bothered him and he never shut up. He never, ever shut up."  


"You're speaking in the past tense."  


"Yeah, I am."  


"Oh." Diana was clearly unnerved by how matter-of-fact her daughter was being.   


"Anyway, the farmer's son died and he kicked us out. Kenny gave me and Lee a ride with his family down to Macon, but the truck ran out of gas and we got attacked by walkers. 

This group herded us into the pharmacy, and uh... Duck got grabbed for a second on the way in. He fell into all this mud, he was covered in it. The leader was-" Clem cut off again, holding her stomach. Suddenly, a dark hatred boiled up inside Violet. "Was a woman called Lilly. Her dad Larry was there, too, and Carley and Doug and Glenn. She didn't like the others running out and helping us and then there was an argument. I left to go use the toilet, so I don't remember much, but Larry thought Duck was bitten. He wanted to smash his head in in case he was."  


"Um, how old was Duck?" Diana asked warily, as if she already knew the answer.  


"Ten."  


"Oh." It clearly wasn't surprising, but definitely worrying, seeing as how she curled up into herself. Violet had to agree. She thought of someone wanting to bash in Tenn's head on a whim and just- God...  


"What happened then?" Ed encouraged, not looking at her.  


Clem nodded. "Kenny and Lee blew up at him."  


"Good," he growled. Violet hummed in agreement.  


"Eventually Larry backed down but then..." Clem flushed red, as if embarrassed.  


"What?" Violet asked.   


"Uh... I opened a door with a walker behind it."  


"What? That... really doesn't sound like you, Clem."  


"I know!" Clem snapped at her, though without any real bite. "I needed to go and I wasn't thinking, okay? And besides, it was all still new. They were loud and slow and stupid, I didn't think they could sneak up on you as well as they can." She took a breath. "Still, Lee saved me, ripped the walker right off me. Something happened after that and Larry started shouting, but then he collapsed. He had a heart condition and all the stress, well..."  


"Can't say I feel sorry for him," Ed muttered. Diana shrugged in agreement. To be honest, Violet was of a mind with them - Tenn's face washed over her mind again and she clutched Clem's hand absentmindedly.  


Clem squeezed back and nodded for her parents. "Well, we decided to find a way into the pharmacy for some pills, and Glenn ran off to find some gas. Lee and I went into the office to clear the door. I remember him freezing up when we went in."  


"Why?" Violet asked.  


"There was blood all over the ground and..." Clem seemed to weigh whether she should tell them in her mind and after a second it looked like she'd been given permission. "His parents owned the drugstore." Diana's quiet gasp sounded louder than it really was. "Yeah, they didn't get along for a while before everything... anyway, then Carley came in to talk to him about-" She froze. "About something he did before the world fell apart."  


Violet could feel Ed's eyes narrow. "What did he do?" He slowly retreated when Clem levelled a look at him. For a moment Violet felt petty pride well up in her.  


"It doesn't matter, yet." The clipped tone surprised Violet; she only remembered Clem getting short, truly short, once before, during that first game of War. "I don't want you judging him right now. But that car crash was a police car." She took a breath. "Anyway, once Carley left we got to moving the desk from the door. Heh, it was heavy." For a moment Violet could have sworn the girl was high from the look on her face. "We talked a little, about his family and you two and the people outside and I cut my finger on the edge."  


Violet snorted, smirked when Clem glared lightly at her.   


"A-ny-way," Clem continued tersely, "Lee patched me up and made sure I was okay. I remember asking why he'd-" she glanced up at them "-done what he did. He said that it was wrong but it was complicated and... and I can't talk about it until I tell you what it was." Ed opened his mouth. "You won't understand. So not now."  


"We'll understand," Ed assured his daughter.   


Clem only gave that look to her father. "Lee told to come to him if I needed anything and he and Carley left to go help Glenn. It was a long time before they came back, and they were all so sad then. I never knew why."  


Diana smiled for her daughter. "Well, it sounds like this man took good care of you."   


Ed nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, I'm liking him the more you talk about him." He had decided to let Lee's past stay buried for now. Either that or he didn't want to make his daughter angry five minutes after seeing her for the first time in years.  


Violet had to nod as well. Clem hadn't opened up about Lee much in the past few weeks, but she had gathered that it was someone that took care of her a long time ago, and someone that she loved. That didn't paint a happy story.  


Clem seemed to agree with her, since a wave of sadness washed over her face. "Yeah, well, that's the 'group'. Back then, anyway." The sadness intensified. She looked around, searching for something to say. Violet felt the grip on her hand get a little sweaty.  


Ed seemed to realise she was uncomfortable. "Look, Clementine," he began awkwardly. "This, uh, this boy. AJ." Clem's eyes lit up. "Violet said he was yours?"   


Clem shrank back into her bed under the weight of her parents' combined gaze. The implication was not lost on Violet. "Look, I didn't mean-"  


"And if he is?" And in the blink of an eye the rebelliousness reared its head. Or was it protectiveness? Both?  


Diana was shocked. "Sweetie, that boy has to be five years old! That would mean-"  


"He's six," Clem corrected.   


Violet whistled lowly. "Listen, maybe you should just tell them-"  


"You would have been eleven!" Ed argued, outraged. "There is no way that boy is your son!"  


"He's as good as!" Clem snarled wildly, wincing from her wound but not relenting. "All he has in the world is me - and that goes both ways. I was with Rebecca the last few days before she gave birth! I promised Alvin I'd protect him before he was murdered! I was there protecting him when he was being born! I sat there with Rebecca and held him! I put her down so she wouldn't eat him! I helped name him! I marched through snow and ice to keep him safe! I spent years alone with him, barely scraping by and doing things that would you sick just to keep him alive! My name was the first thing he ever said! When he was ripped out of my arms I kept living just out of hope that I would find him again, and when I gave up I lived to kill the people that took him from me! When I found out he was alive I ripped an entire state apart finding him! It's been just me and him for years! I love AJ more than life itself! I loved him and raised him and you don't get to tell me that all means nothing!"  


And with six years of emotion poured out of her Clem fell back down and tried to catch her breath, clutching the wound she'd strained again.  


The silence was so thick Violet could feel it. She... she hadn't thought Clem capable of that sort of outburst. She'd known from the very first night that that kid meant the world and everything in it to her, but to see Clem actually lose her shit at the slightest implication that it wasn't true...  


"Sorry," Clem murmured, eyes fixed on the upper bunk. "I didn't mean..." She swallowed, squeezed Violet's hand.  


Diana let out a slow breath. "Oh, honey..."  


"Don't be," Ed told his daughter, nodding with a furrowed brow. "What's he like, the boy?"  


"He's-"  


"What in God's name is going on in there?!" Ruby's voice rang from outside the building.  


Violet cleared her throat. "That's our cue." When Clem began to protest she shushed her. "Nope. You've gone and done it now." Clem dropped back down and scowled in that way that made Violet want to, well... it made her face go hot thinking about it, especially with Clem's fucking parents right behind them. For now she settled for leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You keep finding reasons to get Ruby in here and I might get jealous." When Clem flushed red and sputtered she backed up, grinning at Clem on her way out.  


Violet didn't bother closing the door behind her, jumping to avoid Ruby marching in the room. Ed and Diana looked alarmed before she escorted them back outside, only to bump into the very boy they had been talking about.  


"Hey, kiddo." AJ relaxed a smidgeon when he saw she wasn't scared or angry. "It's nothing to worry about, Clem just... got herself a bit worked up. You know."   


The boy let out his breath. "Okay. I thought, maybe..." His eyes flickered to the adults behind her.  


Violet followed his glance. "Oh. No, we were all talking and some sore spots got hit, is all. Clem's alright, but I think Ruby might just kill her if she tears another stitch." AJ shocked to attention. "No, no, it's just a joke, kid. She's not actually going to kill her, just scowl really hard and tell her she's disappointed in her and 'oh, I thought better of you' and all that. She's alright."  


"Oh. Sorry."  


"S'alright." It was then that Violet... realised. "Uh, AJ, this is um... Ed and Diana. You two, this is AJ."  


"It's very nice to meet you, AJ." Violet blinked at Diana. Politeness had become quite redundant over the years. Except at dinnertime - Ruby actually would kill you for being rude at dinner.  


"It is indeed." Ed awkwardly held out his hand. AJ frowned and cocked his head curiously, before slowly holding out his hand in the air as well.  


Violet couldn't help the snort of laughter. "You're supposed to take his hand in yours and shake it." AJ looked at her warily, as if she'd told him to dance in a circle while humming 'Oh, My Darling' before staring at Ed's hand and shaking it properly.  


It was then that Tenn hurried over to her. "Abel says he wants to talk to you."  


Violet could feel her eyes narrow as the anger boiled over. Was he bullshitting her again? She looked over to AJ.  


The boy's face had turned to stone. "I want to come."  


"No."   


"But-"

"I said no, AJ." No way was she about to show the kid what she was going to do if Abel was playing with her again. Besides, she didn't know if Clem would allow it. "But, uh..."  


AJ's scowl fell to awkward hesitation. "I can talk to them, show them around."

"I'll help you," Tenn offered, earning a wide smile from AJ that reminded Violet of just how much AJ really was just a kid. After everything with Marlon and the gun in his pocket and... anyway, it could be easy to forget. Looking at the two of them together was just...

Violet gathered herself and made off for the basement, trying to hold back the building hatred for the man in it and all his friends.  



End file.
